My name is Russell Jones. I am an adult learner. I came back to finish my OSSD through Sagamok Anishnawbek's Lifelong Learning Centre, and I just handed in my final Grade 12 coursework. I also have two sons in Rainbow District School Board schools, one in high school now and one starting next year.

So I see this as a student and as a parent at the same time. From both views, the same thing is true. In 2026, the Rainbow District School Board still has no clear, published policy on how students may use artificial intelligence in their work.

That gap is not harmless. It lands on the students.

I asked for the policy in writing back in April. I never received an answer. There is no policy, and nothing handed out in its place. With no policy to point to, each teacher is left to decide on their own. A student who is trying to do the right thing has no clear rule to stand on.

I enrolled in February and was making strong progress. Partway in, I was pulled aside and questioned about my AI use. Not because I hid anything. Because there was no policy defining what acceptable even meant. I stumbled for a stretch trying to invent my own answer. An audit log I built to track every interaction grew into a usage charter. A student should not have to invent the rulebook to avoid being treated as a cheat.

A conservative estimate: that uncertainty added about two months to my course timeline.

Now multiply that. There are years of students moving through Rainbow's high schools right now, including my own kids, facing the same fog. With no clear policy, the safe assumption for any student is that any AI use might be treated as cheating. So a generation of students is being shut out of the tools they will be expected to use in college, in apprenticeships, and at work. Instead of being taught to use them honestly and well.

A generation ago, this board worked out a clear rule for when calculators were allowed in math class. AI needs the same thing. A calculator policy for 2026. This is not hard to solve at the policy level. It is only hard for the student left to solve it alone.

What we are asking for is a real AI use policy before the next semester. Not a one line statement. A working document that includes:

1. Per course definitions of acceptable AI use, in plain language.
2. A standard disclosure format that every student fills in the same way.
3. A clear escalation path for borderline cases, so neither students nor teachers are left guessing.
4. Training for teachers, so they can answer the question instead of improvising.
5. An honest acknowledgment that students already use these tools, and a plan to teach responsible, transparent use.

We also ask the board to modernize its tools, so that documenting AI use and showing your work counts as good practice, not evasion.

Students who are trying to do the right thing are paying for the board's delay. The next adult learner should not have to invent this from scratch. Neither should the next kid in a Grade 12 classroom.

Rainbow District School Board: update the policy. Update the tools. Give students a fair rule to work under. Please sign and share.